Grammar: Dangling Modifiers

1. Which is correct?

Getting up early, the house seemed unusually quiet to me.

Getting up early, I noticed that the house seemed unusually quiet.

The correct answer is "Getting up early, I noticed that the house seemed unusually quiet." This is the correct answer because it follows the logical order of events. First, the person gets up early, and then they notice that the house seems unusually quiet. The other option, "Getting up early, the house seemed unusually quiet to me," suggests that the house seemed quiet before the person got up early, which doesn't make sense.

Explanation

The correct answer is "Getting up early, I noticed that the house seemed unusually quiet." This is the correct answer because it follows the logical order of events. First, the person gets up early, and then they notice that the house seems unusually quiet. The other option, "Getting up early, the house seemed unusually quiet to me," suggests that the house seemed quiet before the person got up early, which doesn't make sense.

2. Which is correct?

While reaching for a hammer, the ladder began to tip.

While I was reaching for a hammer, the ladder began to tip.

The correct answer is "While I was reaching for a hammer, the ladder began to tip." This is the correct answer because it uses the past continuous tense ("was reaching") to indicate that the action of reaching for a hammer was already in progress when the ladder began to tip. The first option, "While reaching for a hammer, the ladder began to tip," is grammatically incorrect as it lacks a subject for the action of reaching.

Explanation

The correct answer is "While I was reaching for a hammer, the ladder began to tip." This is the correct answer because it uses the past continuous tense ("was reaching") to indicate that the action of reaching for a hammer was already in progress when the ladder began to tip. The first option, "While reaching for a hammer, the ladder began to tip," is grammatically incorrect as it lacks a subject for the action of reaching.

3. Does the following sentence contain a dangling modifier? "Discovering that I had left my wallet at home, I asked Janet to pay for our lunch."

Yes

No

The given sentence does not contain a dangling modifier. The introductory phrase "Discovering that I had left my wallet at home" is followed by the subject "I" and the verb "asked," which correctly indicates that the subject is the one asking Janet to pay for lunch. Therefore, there is no ambiguity or misplacement of the modifier in the sentence.

Explanation

The given sentence does not contain a dangling modifier. The introductory phrase "Discovering that I had left my wallet at home" is followed by the subject "I" and the verb "asked," which correctly indicates that the subject is the one asking Janet to pay for lunch. Therefore, there is no ambiguity or misplacement of the modifier in the sentence.

4. Does the following sentence contain a dangling modifier? "After finishing my assignment, the dog ate it."

Yes

No

Yes, the given sentence contains a dangling modifier. The phrase "After finishing my assignment" is a modifier that is not clearly connected to the subject of the sentence. It suggests that the dog finished the assignment, which is illogical. A possible revision could be: "After I finished my assignment, the dog ate it." This would clarify that it was the speaker who finished the assignment, not the dog.

Explanation

Yes, the given sentence contains a dangling modifier. The phrase "After finishing my assignment" is a modifier that is not clearly connected to the subject of the sentence. It suggests that the dog finished the assignment, which is illogical. A possible revision could be: "After I finished my assignment, the dog ate it." This would clarify that it was the speaker who finished the assignment, not the dog.

5. Which is correct?

The cook put the fries, still steaming from the deep fryer, into the basket.

Still steaming from the deep fryer, the cook put the fries in the basket.

The correct answer is "The cook put the fries, still steaming from the deep fryer, into the basket." This is because the phrase "still steaming from the deep fryer" is describing the fries, and it makes more sense for it to be placed immediately after the noun it is modifying. Placing it at the beginning of the sentence disrupts the flow and makes it less clear that the phrase is referring to the fries.

Explanation

The correct answer is "The cook put the fries, still steaming from the deep fryer, into the basket." This is because the phrase "still steaming from the deep fryer" is describing the fries, and it makes more sense for it to be placed immediately after the noun it is modifying. Placing it at the beginning of the sentence disrupts the flow and makes it less clear that the phrase is referring to the fries.